How could the Lakers, up by 21 (35-14) at the end of the first quarter, up by 24 (45-21) midway through the second period, up by 18 at halftime (58-40) at halftime, up by 20 (70-50) midway through the third quarter, have one of the most staggering meltdowns in NBA history?

How could the Lakers, so brilliant for two-thirds of the match, so overwhelming, so dominating, be out-scored by a staggering 47-21 margin in the final 18 minutes and four seconds by the Boston Celtics?

How could the Lakers Thursday night wind up losing their aggressiveness, their shooting touch, their spirit, their concentration, their heart and, for all intents and purposes, their season by losing the game, 97-91, that had been seemingly safely in their possession.

Well, for one, they suffered a mass case of amnesia, as they stopped doing the things – moving the ball around, driving to the basket, playing alertly, etc. – that were responsible for building their sizable lead.

And, for another, the Celtics started applying intense defensive pressure on the Lakers, especially by Kevin Garnett, who roamed all over the court harassing everyone, and Paul Pierce, who played a major role in shutting down Kobe Bryant.

Bryant was a facilitator when the Lakers were far in front – he wound up with 10 assists – but on this dark night for the Lakers he couldn’t break free from the tight tentacles of the Celtics when he went into his inevitable shooting mode much to the disappointment of the 18,997 stunned patrons at Staples Center.

He wound up missing 13-of-19 shots in scoring a mere 17 points, and no one was able to pick up the slack, as Tuesday night’s hero, Sasha Vujacic, missed eight of nine shots and wound up with three points.

The Lakers, finally, did get some production from Lamar Odom, but he scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half and only two in the ill-starred final quarter when Phil Jackson’s troops methodically unraveled.

Give the Celtics credit.

They demonstrated once again why they won 66 regular season games, and once again made a mockery out of the Las Vegas oddsmakers, who had them as 7½-point underdogs in this one.

No team in NBA history ever has come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals, and it’s improbable the Lakers will, since they’d have to beat the Celtics three straight games, two of which would be played in Boston.

It won’t happen, not after the Lakers suffered one of the most ignoble losses in all the years of the NBA, not after the Lakers inexplicably lost their passion, lost their desire and lost a game that has a lot of the team’s loyalists in sorrow, as I’m sure are their fallen heroes. …

It’s a graphic reflection of the conspiracy-obsessed, over-the-top, 24-hour modern-day media to give more legitimacy to the convicted felon referee Tim Donaghy’s cockamamie, unsubstantiated assertion that a couple of NBA series were fixed than to the reasoned denial by NBA commissioner David Stern. …

Of course, in this country, there are still Elvis Presley sightings, and there are still living, breathing human beings among us, albeit without their brains ever having reached their heads, who believe in the sanctity of O.J. Simpson. …

Why is it Elgin Baylor’s name always is missing when people discuss all-time great players these days? …

The nice thing about being at Staples Center watching the Celtics-Lakers finals in person is that I’m not stuck at home watching the debate on ABC-TV and having to listen to the network’s Gruesome Threesome, Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. …

Surprised that the suits at ABC didn’t disinter Brent Musburger for an NBA Finals cameo, as they did for the Belmont. …

I always find it a curious phenomenon when the finals shift to L.A. how so many members of the out-of-town media bray on and on and on in their stories about all the celebrities who show up at the games. You’d think by their goggle-eyed reaction that they’re a bunch of hayseeds from the outback. …

I knew things were going too well for the Chicago Cubs, and that something bad soon had to happen to the notoriously jinxed franchise. And, natch, it did with their best player, Alfonso Soriano, now out six weeks with a broken hand after being struck by a pitch. …

No doubt Ken Griffey Jr. is a first ballot Hall of Famer, and now is in select company after hitting his 600th home run.

No doubt also that Griffey might be the most underachieving superstar ever to put on a major league baseball uniform.

I know injuries have haunted him the past four seasons, but even when he was healthy there always was a notable lack of passion in his play. …

Terrell Owens says he’s not worried about now being drug tested 24 times a year after landing on the NFL’s “reasonable cause” testing program for missing a random test.

But he says he’s frustrated by it.

Why?

Because he says he’s clean.

OK, so then what’s the big deal? …

A couple of iconic Southern California fixtures, John Wooden and Vin Scully, will be on the podium for the first time tonight at the Nokia Theatre in a charity event called For The Kids that will be telecast live by Fox Sports Net Prime Ticket starting at 8.

The event has been organized by L.A. Times sports columnist T.J. Simers, who will serve as the moderator.

The 7,100-seat arena is nearly sold out – tickets still can be purchased at ticketmaster.com – and nearly $1 million is expected to be raised for the Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA, the Children’s Hospital in L.A. and the City of Hope. …

Mr. Century Club himself, Dan Gooch, introduced me to the Long Beach State golf coach, Bill Poutre, the other evening at Legends, and I found out I have something in common with the new arrival from the University of Hartford.

It turns out Poutre also is a passionate Boston Red Sox loyalist. …

Incidentally, I can’t believe how well Andruw Jones’ dietitian, Bartolo Colon, is doing these days as a starting pitcher for the Red Sox. The roly-poly one won his fourth game against a single defeat, and has a 3.41 ERA. Quite a comeback for the former Angel who I honestly thought had eaten himself out of baseball. …

That well-known connoisseur of matrimony, Surf Bob Edmondson, is also an international surfer who has ridden the waves in recent years in the Fiji Islands, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Tahiti, Bali and, of course, Hawaii. In his spare time, Mr. Edmondson is a respected Long Beach divorce attorney. …

Ryan Rodriguez, handsome son of the handsome executive director of the Long Beach Boys and Girls Club Don Rodriguez, is graduating from St. John Bosco High where he was quite a soccer player. He is a lifeguard at Weingart-Lakewood Family YMCA, and plans to attend UCSB in the fall. …

I’d hate to be a college graduate now starting off in this dark economic climate. …

We all know about the proverbial kid-in-the-candy-store running amok, but what about an old man doing the same? Well, that was the case the other evening when my pal, 71-year-old Donnie (No Win) Kramer, came across the recently opened Powell’s Sweet Shoppe on 2nd Street in Belmont Shore, and spent more than $100 on an assortment of sweet goodies guaranteed to enhance the already bloated cholesterol of the venerable ticket tout. …

Talking about Powell, that baseball handicapper, the inimitable James Powell, continues to pick winners on a consistent basis and actually makes money on such gambling efforts. But I remain a confirmed skeptic in such a pursuit. We’ll see if he’s still upright a few years from now. …

Honestly, I remember once buying regular gas for nine cents a gallon. …

Our very own Press-Telegram designer extraordinaire Matt Murray has made it to the Elite 8 in KLAC’s Fame and Fortune Broadcasting contest. Why would Mr. Murray, soon to be a papa for the second time, want to waste so much of life’s valuable time being a sports talk show host, as I did for too many years? …

Never realized that the powerful downtown political consultant, Mad Mike (The Grim Reaper) Murchison, was a childhood friend of the Champions Tournament runner-up, Paul Goydos, and actually was on the Wilson High golf team with Goydos.

“There was one slight difference between us – Paul was a very good golfer and I wasn’t,” says Mad Mike, who has gone on to be as celebrated in his line of work as Goydos has been in his. Both men graduated from Wilson in 1982. …

Long Beach mayor Bob (Bananas) Foster and wife Nancy are now vacationing in Italy, while His Gray Eminence, John Morris, is now in Scotland with his family visiting his mother and playing golf. …

I’ve never seen a more dominating tennis performance than the one Rafael Nadal dispensed last Sunday in the French Open finals, at least not one against a player the caliber of Roger Federer. …

I’ll be mildly surprised if Nadal doesn’t dethrone five-time Wimbledon champion Federer even though the upcoming tournament is staged on grass instead of clay. …

Is there anything campier than those State Farm TV commercials showing Joe Torre on a surfboard? What’s next for the on-the-job-retirement Dodger manager, posing in a Mr. Olympia contest for Viagra? …

The one-time Jordan High athletic hero, Mike (The Animal) Mann, whose legendary feats on the sporting fields easily have been exceeded by his legendary feats in matrimony – he’s been married 11 times – has, sadly, revealed that he’s not tying the knot for No. 12, after all. What a shame! No one is in greater mourning over this startling development than Surf Bob Edmondson, always on the alert for new clients. …

I’m about as anxious to see the rematch set for July 16 between James Toney and Hasim Rahman at the Pechanga in Temecula as I am in seeing my beloved dentist, Dr. Terrie St. Germain. Actually, I prefer having to visit the Sherlock Holmes of dentistry. At least ol’ Doc Germain is more entertaining. …

So boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and NFL player Michael Strahan have announced their retirements. Ho hum. There’s a greater likelihood that gas will return to nine cents a gallon than both those guys remaining retired.

The best news I heard all week is that we won’t be subjected to an Oscar De La Hoya-Mayweather rematch in September.

Thank God! …

You’re on the outs, pal, if you pick up a dinner and drink tab for a lady you just met – and the ungrateful soul doesn’t even deign to utter a thank you. Of course, you should stay safely away from someone with such a notable lack of social graces anyway because such rudeness gives you insight into the person’s character. …

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